Fall is coming to Chile as I Muse

I notice I haven't posted anything for quite a while so I will-although I'm not quite sure where this is going yet. Fall is in the air here-no rain yet but a few cloudy days. A friend farther south in Valparaiso tells me it is raining a lot. Only a few weeks ago, she was boasting about the lovely rain they have every afternoon while there was none here. And it was hot, in the 90s for days. The weather may dictate what part of Chile you like and it can vary a lot....here in central Chile, it is hot, very hot days and no rain for months. It's a Mediterranean climate but know what that really means...I really didn't imagine it meant no rain. But the nights are still cool, maybe the best sleeping I have ever done has been in Chile. Central Chile has a nice long growing season but you better make sure you have accessible water or everything will die. Water rights are not automatic here-they are bought and sold separately so make sure you have them. Don't assume that because your neighbor has utilities, you have access-research carefully. The way everything works is completely different here and common sense may not apply-Rule #1 This Is Chile.

Anyway, I feel that slight crispness that says fall is coming. I see red maple trees starting to turn red. The US is experiencing snow in 49 states I hear. Spring should be there in another month or so-I hope. For many reasons, we are returning to the US for spring and summer at least. I hate winter and am not fond of it here either. It is rainy and humid cold that permeates through your clothes right to your bones. The local folks are not fond of heat-I have yet to see central heating. People commonly wear coats inside and the women wear pantyhose under their jeans (and that works btw). There is rarely snow but a frost covers the ground every morning in winter. People are frugal here and we in the US could learn something about that. Some sort of middle ground would be nice. I have been told by Chileans that brag of a once a week shower(I'm assuming a "spit" or whore's bath in between) and am tired of feeling apologetic of my American ways of desiring frequent showers. I love showers. They make me feel good and perky and ready to take on the day. I really tried to adjust but....so those are a couple of things that a big adjustment. Calefons are common here and are a great idea-instant hot water heater on your wall-a real space saver and endless hot water! The US has taken them and improved them. Definitely think its time has come.

The perfect life is to spend the warmer seasons in each country and that is my fervent hope. Chile is a second home but it will always be not quite home. When I go to the US, part of my heart stays in Chile. but I am US-made and part of me is always there. If only we could take the good ideas of both countries.

Pinera's Not Quite Insider Trading and he's Still a Billionaire

Pinera, who was a senator for eight years and ran unsuccessfully for president in 2005, ranked 701st among the world's billionaires in March with a net worth of $1 billion.. Yes, he still seems to be worth the same $1 billion for the past 5 or so years I've been able to track. Oddly, that doesn't square well with the fact that his LAN shares are worth around $1.5 billion. And with common sense finance that tells us our money doubles every 7 years or so("The easiest way to think of it is with the rule of sevens," said Jonathan Berk, assistant professor of finance at the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley. "If you put $100 into an account and compound it, it doubles every seven years." ) with simple interest compounding. So, how much is Pinera worth?It's obviously a well kept secret-Forbes has no idea either. I think they must call and ask "so, what can we put you down for this year Sebastian?" Research would be difficult and include adding up his stakes in television network Chilevision and his reported 13% of soccer club Colo-Colo.

Not to mention, it's still difficult because I'm sure he has become as clever at creating holding and shell companies as any wealthy American. But here's one. And from a 1999 article, I saw this "Through his investment holding Inversiones Bancard, Chilean businessman Sebastian Pinera increased his stake in Entel to 4.7%. Pinera is also expected to unite support from enough partners to be elected to the Entel board." And here's a little more: Chile, May 13, 2002Bancard, the investment company from Sebastian Pinera, has been purchasing shares in the stock market, pursuing a strategy to reinforce positions in the companies where it is already a shareholder. In 2001 Bancard has acquired a 2,79% stake in the electric company Colbun. It has stakes in Lan Chile and Parque Arauco, while it is appointed board members in Pampa Calichera, and Antarchi...

Here's the deal-this is one wealthy guy and his companies all have "stakes" in each other.
It's not only an extremely tangled web of holding companies within companies within companies owning each other, it's in English and Spanish!

So, about insider trading or as Mr. Pinera might put it "it just looks like it but really it's not"-sort of 'looks like a duck, quacks like a duck but no it's not" . On July 24, 2006, Chilean businessman, ex-senator and right-wing presidential candidate Sebastian Piñera bought three million shares of Lan Airlines, the company he partly owns. The following day, Lan released its first semester earnings: profits went up by 6.4 percent. The Superintendent’s Office for Assets and Securities (SVS) found Piñera’s activity suspect, and yesterday charged him with violating a law that would have precluded him from acquiring shares, after the agency concluded its six month investigation.

According to the SVS, the regulatory body charged with overseeing financial transactions in the stock and securities markets, Piñera’s purchase of the shares the day before the company revealed its good news breached Article 165 of a 1981, which prohibits anyone with privileged information from making trades on the basis of it.

Here's the part I love: "For his part, Piñera flatly denies any wrongdoing. He defended the purchase by arguing that it was not inconsistent with market tendencies; that the share price raised because it was known that Piñera had bought more stock; and that the actual date of the transaction was decided by a foreign broker."

So the share price didn't go up because earnings were up(and that is the general consensus in the financial biz-when earnings are way up, so goes the stock but never mind) the stock went up because Pinera bought more stock. All these years and we have had it backwards-just buy what "they" buy. And his other defense was that the stock was bought by a "foreign broker". How interesting but I don't guess we'll ever know where the stock was held. And because he is Chilean, the SEC can't touch him, I'd guess. And their Chilean counterpart has to keep track of holdings here and there. Not even possible.

So, he bought 3 million shares but I can't find how much he made. Was it the Chilean stock market or the US market? So I can't research the price he paid or the price history after the earnings report came out. The fine was $680,000 to $700,000 USD depending on the account you read. The fine would be in Chilean pesos(chp) so you have the currency exchange rate to contend with.

And how are international companies and their holding companies dealt with at all? I think abolishing holding companies would be a start so we can see who owns what-for real.

Note: I see when I published. I somehow lost all my links-and there are many! I will work to get them back on.

The 2010 Chile Presidential Election-More Thoughts

First, my opinions in regards to some interesting questions from a commenter-and ones that others may also have.

"Why do you think the current candidate Frei isn't running with high poll numbers like Bachelet's?"

Michelle Bachelet is extremely smart and likable, a good politician. Frei is...well. pretty boring and was President before(from 1994 to 2000) Look for Bachelet to run again after this 4 year term(you can run again but not consecutively here). Frei will continue policies put forth by Bachelet. So it's the old Frei but with someone else's good ideas. And President Bachelet has been fairly quiet in her support until recently, which is her character-she has never mentioned in public(to my knowledge) the well known fact that her father was killed under Pinochet-as was Frei's father and MEO's father.

"Why is the conservative Pinera doing so well?"

People want change even when they don't know what that change might be. And I think many think a wealthy man like Pinera as President means this translates to their own future wealth. I have heard comments that a wealthy man doesn't need money and therefore won't be greedy(in that case they should look to the US and Pinera's insider trading-and maybe the bank of Talca)Pinera's best issue was crime(and Bachelet's weakest). They are trying to change the system here-rights to trial etc that is a difficult transition. Also, I think most don't understand that the president's hands are tied largely because the constitution created under Pinochet is in force still and very, very difficult to change. And you still have Pinochet supporters, I think about 20%. Hard to believe but true. Pinera has distanced himself from many right wing policies knowing that he has the support of the right no matter what he says, picking up those votes in the middle.

"Also - what do you think is the effect of a rule that all must vote? Does that produce more conservative results, or more left-liberal?"

Good question. Many still don't vote at this time in spite of so-called mandatory voting. And the young voters aren't turning out in large numbers. And they recently changed the rule. People of voting age will automatically be registered in the future but it will no longer be mandatory to vote. Also Chileans that live out of the country will be able to vote absentee in future elections. The voting issue was a change due to MEO influence. And absentee voters will include leftists that expatriated during the Pinochet years(ie Isabelle Allende-the writer) as well as right wingers (Jose Pinera-famous for privatization "reforms" he instigated under Pinochet). Note: I love Isabelle Allende's books notably "My Invented Country" and really, really think Jose and his supporters should mention that these "reforms" took place under a dictatorship and are, therefore, not democratic as likes to pretend.

Pinera has made some mistakes recently. He avoided a question in the last debate when a reporter asked him if he would ask MEO to join his government-MEO came out only days later and endorsed Frei. From the NYT: "In recent weeks, the government of Michelle Bachelet, Concertación’s popular president, agreed to fast-track some initiatives espoused by Mr. Enríquez-Ominami, in the hope of helping Mr. Frei’s chances. The initiatives include education and water reforms, and a measure to make voting registration automatic but voting voluntary, reversing the current system in which voting is mandatory for life once a voter is registered. Mr. Enríquez-Ominami had blamed that system for a sharp decline in new voter registration." In other words, the Concertacion is willing to listen, the right not so much. I think Pinera thought he had this won and became complacent.

Pinera also came out against José Miguel Insulza, Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS). Whatever Chilean politics, left or right, Chileans love Chileans and there is a lot of pride and patriotism-and that includes Insulza. And communist left wing poets(see Pablo Neruda). Or Victor Jara, the singer and songwriter.

I read of MEO's 20% of 1st round votes (that both candidates want) a poll found that 44 percent of those who voted for Mr. Enríquez-Ominami said they would vote for Mr. Frei while 20 percent would vote for Mr. Piñera; 21 percent said they would vote for neither candidate. With MEO's endorsement of Frei, there is a possibility of wresting some the 21% that say they won't vote as well as a real possibility that Pinera will lose some of that 20%.

And the voting has begun. I hear polls close at 4 pm.

Edit: Looks like Frei conceded. Pinera took 51.87 percent of the vote with 60.3 percent of polling stations counted, compared to 48.12 percent for Frei.

The 2010 Chile Presidential Election

Tomorrow is the day-the runoff between Center left Eduardo Frei and Sebastian Pinera on the right.

Results from the first round of Chile’s presidential election—held on Dec. 11—placed Piñera ahead with 44.05 per cent of all cast ballots, followed by Frei with 29.60 per cent, independent candidate Marco Enríquez-Ominami with 20.13 per cent, and left-wing candidate Jorge Arrate with 6.21 per cent.

Sebastián Piñera holds a slight edge as in Chile’s presidential run-off, according to a poll by MORI. 50.9 per cent of decided voters would support the candidate of the centre-right Coalition for Change (CC) in tomorrow’s election.Former president Eduardo Frei Ruiz Tagle of the centre-left Agreement of Parties for Democracy (CPD) would finish a close second with 49.1 per cent.

The race is now dead even, for all practical purposes as the difference lies within the 3% margin of error. It has been a race to see who can garner MEO's 20% and MEO announced that he would support Frei.

"Given the uncertainty that the right could block Chile's march toward the future, it is my responsibility to contribute what I can so it doesn't happen," Enriquez-Ominami, the son of a leftist guerrilla leader slain during General Augusto Pinochet's 1973-1990 dictatorship, told a news conference in parliament.

"So I formally declare my decision to support the people's candidate who won 29 percent of the vote on December 13," he said, referring to Frei, whom he had until now refused to endorse despite repeated appeals and concessions by the ruling coalition.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1313013020100113

You'll find the candidates promises here:

I see the main issue of privatizing CODELCO(Chile's state owned copper mine) further as Pinera would like to do and CODELCO filled Chile's treasury nicely in the past few years. Frei will keep things the way President Bachelet has or a continuation of her policies. She enjoys record high approval ratings of 80% or so. MEO's support is late but big news because the race is so tight already-a small percentage could swing things.

I have googled and read a million articles, watched debates in spanish and now know an unbelievable amount about Chilean elections. I guess I like politics.

I Love Podcasts

One item I brought back from the US was an Ipod my son bought for me. I had the idea that I would like to listen to music while gardening and other chores. And I read a little about podcasts and audio books. The surprise was that I just love the podcasts. And I am sometimes obsessed with finding the best ones. I download some and can decide whether to continue or not, and newbie that I am, I have found many that have become my favorites. And what a joy when I find an especially good one. I will list my favorites here and add to it as I go along. But I have a few worth mentioning right away.

The odd thing, I think, is that ipods and mp3 players are mostly geared to music listening. While that is pleasant, I really enjoy listening to the podcasts while doing daily chores, weeding or washing dishes, laundry etc.. I have a variety to listen to, depending on my mood. There is a lot on the internet about audio books but I especially enjoy podcasts of 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours so far so I haven't tried the books but I really enjoy the audio short stories. There are classic short stories and new short stories and old Bela Lugosi style horror stories. I like to listen to the news and there is a variety to listen to-many sources have posted their own podcasts. I enjoy politics and there are many choices there as well. And comedy-this is more difficult to find but some of the more amusing ones are also surprising. New podcasts are discovered all the time, and some were started with the podcaster simply stopping. Podcasts are mostly free. All of the ones I listen to are free and I use itunes to keep organized, adding and dropping podcasts. Podcasts are simply a version of radio(especially public radio) and tv shows for the most part (although some are people making their own podcasts) but you can transfer them to your mp3 player to listen to whenever you like.

So, here are some that I enjoy, in no particular order.

The Moth Podcast. I just love this one. The first story I listened to, for some reason, was not memorable but I listened to another later and was so impressed that I listened to some more and now I can't wait for another. These are stories told live in front of an audience, and told by all sorts of people from all walks of life about all kinds of things.

Democracy Now. What can I say? I love Amy Goodman and her crew and can always look forward to interesting, mostly political news and discussion.

New Yorker Fiction. This is only monthly(darn it) and is writers reading other writer's short stories along with some discussion. Very nice.

"Horror stories". No link because I don't know the website-I use Itunes for all my downloads. These are old time Bela Lugosi style-you probably won't die of fright but I think it's fun to listen to.

Wait wait, don't Tell me A fun show. A new radio show as good as an old one.

PRI selected Shorts. Short stories

Wiretap. I can not explain why but this one really makes me laugh.

This American Life I also love and look forward to each new episode. Real stories about real life.

Bill Maher has a great podcast, also 60 Minutes and Frontline but I believe all are on break.

Fareed Zacharia has a great podcast, also in video. I think he is one of the smartest men on the planet.

Many more at itunes which is free to download and they will save what you want there so it's not necessary to keep everything on your mp3. It takes a little time but you can peruse the podcasts and decide what you like from day to day. There are reviews and suggestions but Isuggest picking a few and trying them. Then adjust them to suit you as time goes by.

And yes, I have music on there too!

Back to Chile

So, back to Chile. Six weeks in the states flew by. And it's summer here. I've been baking some Christmas cookies and now I remember-chill the dough overnight or the cutout cookies will dissolve in the heat. I have some fairly misshapen gingerbread men-and women-but you can't tell the difference.

And I weed. Everything grows so well here, including the weeds that threaten to take over my prized flowers and choke the life from them. The trick is get outside as early as possible, water the appropriate area(earth dries hard like rock) and weed until you are too exhausted to continue. Summers are dry and nearly rain free. More humidity on cloudy days but rain, nada. So, I keep busy.

Everything looks terrific but past experience now tells me there will be days with no water in the canal(ditch) and we won't understand why. And flowers will die. And I will mourn them and keep plugging away trying to save others.

But I brought computer games so we have entertainment at night when we've tired of our truly awful(but at least we have it) internet. In the states, I surfed merrily on my son's wireless network. A world away where you never get kicked off and everything is fast. But I do have internet though the usb variety where I get disconnected every 10 minutes at peak times and more often now at non'peak times. I'm guessing servers are completely overloaded here. Anyway, the computer games consist of the Agatha Christie type mystery. And a few board games made for computer play. And many paperback books. The books are exciting to have-why was I not excited to have many books before-when I still lived in the US? That's another post but really, I appreciate a lot of stateside stuff more than before.

I like both countries. Really. I don't like some stuff about both countries. There is no better or worse except in specific areas like healthcare, for instance. Both countries now have cheap crap made in China. But the US has better cheap Chinese crap. Really. And it costs less, mostly. Chile has a better healthcare system(and that will be true if they pass the most current legislation).

Chile has a true government option and no one in the system pays more that a certain percentage of their paycheck. They also have a healthy private system. But I digress.

I do love Chile. I love gardening and siestas. I love the adventure. Perhaps I enjoy both countries more now that I've had time to define the differences more clearly. The most wonderful thing would be to spend the warm months here and then the warm months in the US.

And it's December(and it's cold in the US)

I last posted in September. And it's December-how can that be? The photo is in the US, not Chile-it is summer here!

The end of September, I flew back to the US to visit my son and his wife and their adorable and intelligent little girl-my granddaughter. It was unbelievably nice. There was an October wedding(that was everything a wedding should be) and early snow. Followed by a later October storm and a huge snowstorm. I was snowed in with my granddaughter and we had such a good time watching Elmo and sesame street and Disney classic movies. We ate grapes and cookies.

Not long before the storm, we swept leaves off the back deck and examined them and when the breeze made the leaves rustle on the trees, I said "listen to the leaves" and cupped my ear. And she did too. After that, she was the one to look at me and say "leaves." And she cupped her ear.

We played Hide and Seek although she is not quite two. I would count so she could hide and I'd look down to see this little person counting below me, face and arms against the wall, copying me! Eventually, we learned the basic game and she would run to find me and I would look for her. I always hid behind one of three doors and she soon learned the three places to look. At one one point, I decided to make it more difficult and hid on the other side of a door. She walked up and down the hallway, calling "grandma, where are you?" in her little voice and my heart melted-again.

I felt a little like chocolate chip cookies are contraband as my son and his wife are very health conscious(a good thing). But really, there is nothing that replaces a cookie! I gave JJ a cookie once while they were out and forgot to scrub the chocolate evidence from her face(uh oh!) They laughed and I bought chocolate covered grahams which are even worse(chocolate face wise).

We ate lunch and dinner together many times and I, in an effort to encourage her intake of food other than grapes(which she loves) did the airplane game-the age old practice of moving the forkful of food around and around while making "airplane sounds". She thought it a wonderful game and did it herself with motions and sounds and a big smile, at which time I had to convince her to eat one herself, followed by feeding Grandma. That seemed fair to her.

After the snowstorm, a trip to the zoo followed as the nice weather returned. Of course, there is nothing like a trip to the zoo with a little person. JJ says "look at that", "right there"(or here) and "wait, wait' on a regular basis and her voice is like a song to me.

We became such friends and playmates and I carried her as we walked in the airport, holding her as she looked at me as though it were any other day. Just as I entered the maze of security, I heard her say "wait, wait" as though she had realized it was different after all. And that is the voice I hear over and over. "Wait, wait". And I couldn't.